One of the guys
by Disaster-heavy-on-the-DIS
Summary: Margaret 'Maggie' Grayson loves being Magpie and has since she was nine. There's just one problem. She's been around too long and now, as she develops feelings for one of her friends, she has a battle on her hands to prove she can be more that just one of the guys.


Hello, first fanfic here. I hope you enjoy it. Please review.

I wish I did own something but... I don't... Yet!

Four years ago.

Roy was hiding his excitement. He was fourteen, dressed up as his new costume identity - Speedy, and about to met the League. Green Arrow had taken him to a League meeting hall.

"Just try not to annoy them." Green Arrow said as he led the way in. "And don't look at Bats too long, it freezes your soul."

"Green Arrow, we need you in a meeting." Red Tornado announced, as soon as he caught sight of Speedy's mentor.

Green Arrow frowned and glanced down at Speedy. He shifted uncomfortably and then found himself smiling. He lead Speedy towards a door and said he would collect him when the meeting was done.

Speedy watched as his mentor walked away before turning the handle. He slipped inside. He could hear rhythmic breathing coming from somewhere in the room. There was the occasional sounds of movement but not enough to scare the brave young crime fighter. He found the light switch and a bright clear light flooded the clean room. The walls were a pleasant but not memorable shade of blue and there was a large telly strapped to one of them. The news was on the telly but the volume was too low for him to make out words. In the centre of tea room was a single piece of furniture. It was a turquoise sofa. Two children, and Speedy was sure they couldn't be more than ten, were lying on the sofa, their eyes closed. One of the children was a boy. His black hair was ruffled madly and he had his arm tucked around the other child. The other child was a girl. Her long black hair became lost in the black of her black and white costume.

Speedy moved towards them, reaching out to jog the boy's shoulder and wake him up. A gloved hand snapped out and caught Speedy's wrist in a painful hold. It took the archer a few seconds to realise that the hand belonged to the boy.

"We're awake." the boy said, kicking Speedy in the chest.

Both children got up and Speedy recognised their costumes with a frown. They were Robin and Magpie, Batman's apprentices from Gotham. Speedy had not imagined them so young.

"You really should have picked a better day to attack. The whole League is here." the girl, Magpie, said.

She took a step forwards, her arms by her side. Speedy didn't want to attack a little kid, even if she did think he was some sort of criminal. With his attention fixed on Magpie, he didn't notice Robin flying forward until the boy knocked him down. The hero frowned and tried to explain that he was Green Arrow's partner.

"Like we're going to believe that!" Robin said with a joyful cackle.

He had taken Speedy's attention from Magpie long enough for her to pin the archer to the floor.

To Speedy, enough was enough. He leapt forwards and swiped his bow at Robin's ankles, sending the boy to the floor. Robin hit his head and was dazed. Magpie shifted so she was between Speedy and her brother, wrestling the bow out of the archer's hands.

Speedy grabbed at Magpie's arms, trying to restrain her.

"Don't touch my little sister!" Robin shouted, distracting Speedy.

Magpie managed to drive her knee into a very private part of Speedy's biology and the fourteen year old yelped. He rolled away to stop at Robin's feet. Robin shook his head and knelt down, pulling Speedy's hands behind his back and snapped on a pair of handcuffs.

"Did you have to knee him in the nuts?" Robin asked, stepping over Speedy.

The fourteen year old sat up and watched as Robin and Magpie talked. They had their backs to him and didn't seem shaken. Magpie calmly put the bow onto the sofa. Then she turned to Robin, looking annoyed.

"'Don't touch my little sister'!" Magpie said incredulously. "We're twins."

"I'm the older one." Robin stated simply.

Speedy frowned at how easily the little kids were willing to have their argument in front of someone they believed to be a criminal.

"By three minutes!" Magpie reminded him. "And if it wasn't for me, that archer thug would have gotten his hands on you."

That was when the door opened. The League came in and gasped. Green Arrow paled and, when he looked at Batman, he was sure the Dark Knight was smirking at his children.

"Three minutes and forty-two seconds." Robin informed his sister.

Both of them had their backs to the League and seem oblivious to the group behind them. Batman crept forward and placed his hand on Robin's head and then Magpie's.

"Dead, both of you. " Batman said.

Each of the twins groaned. They turned to face their mentor.

"We're going to have to train tomorrow, aren't we?" Robin moaned.

Batman offered both children a silent single nod. They both went after him.

"Can we at least get some sleep?" Magpie asked, trying to look as cute as possible.

As Batman left with his children, he look down at the two. After some mock consideration, he nodded.

"Sounds reasonable." he said and then the three bats disappeared from the base.

Green Arrow knelt down beside Speedy, about to free him from his handcuffs. Then he realised something.

"They've got the key." he breathed, checking the doorway for either one of the bat kids.

"I hate those brats." Speedy moaned, thinking about the twins he would one day see as his siblings.

Two years ago

Kid Flash zoomed through the corridors. The League were discussing him as they did with all the partners and he had been taken to their base for the day. He was going to meet the League at some point that day but he was more excited by the idea of meeting his heroes his age.

He opened the door to where the Flash had said they would be and looked inside. His eyes widened.

Speedy was sitting on the sofa, reading from question cards. Robin and Magpie where standing on opposite side of the rooms, each with a bucket of water balloons at their feet. Both were dripping wet but were still smiling at each other across the room.

"In films, what is the name of Simba's uncle?"

Both children began to shout the correct answer over and over. Kid Flash realised that his age fell between the group. He was thirteen. Robin and Magpie looked a couple of years young than him. Speedy looked a couple of years older.

"Magpie got it first." Speedy announced when the duo had fallen silent.

Grinning mischievously, Magpie knelt down and picked up a water balloon. She checked its weight in her hand before throwing it at her brother. It exploded against Robin's chest.

Then Robin noticed Kid Flash. He frowned at the bright yellow costume but then smiled at him.

"Hey." he said.

"You're having a quiz?" Kid Flash murmured, wide eyed.

He walked into the room. Speedy offered him a nod and did introductions in case the boy didn't recognise them. Kid Flash zipped around excited.

"Next question: in science, what is the only metal that is a liquid at room temperature?" Speedy asked.

"Mercury." Kid Flash answered, eager to impress.

"Correct." Speedy said.

Kid Flash grinned at the duo and zoomed out. He picked a water balloon out of Robin's bucket and threw it at Magpie. Then he raced to Magpie's bucket to get another water balloon. Magpie picked up her bucket and tipped it over Kid Flash, all the water balloons exploding over his ginger hair.

Everyone gasped, including Magpie. The trio stared at Kid Flash, waiting for his reaction.

Kid Flash smirked, laughed and then raced over to Robin's bucket at super sped, throwing water balloons at Magpie and her brother.

When they were done, everyone, the room and the question cards were soaking wet. The group collapsed into a satisfied heap.

"Seems like we have a new brother." Speedy remarked.

Robin couldn't remember falling asleep but he had had a nightmare. It had started off perfectly with him and Magpie swinging through the crisp night air of Gotham. Batman had been watching them from on top of a building. He had seemed impressed. Then Batman had peeled back his mask to reveal the face of Tony Zucco - the man who had murdered Robin's parents. Zucco had thrown a batarang and it had sliced through the wire of Magpie's grapple.

He had watched as his sister had fallen, just as he had watched happen to the rest of his family.

"Magpie?" he called, looking to his side.

He couldn't see Magpie. He searched the room desperately but it was too dark for him to see his sister.

He was shaking but he still managed to move silently. He reached the light switch and flicked it on. The room filled with a blinding light and Robin had covered his eyes for a few seconds.

When he looked around, he saw his sister. She was sleeping on the floor, using her cape as a pillow. She stirred slightly at the sudden light but didn't wake up. Speedy was sleeping between them all and the door, evidence of the protective instincts over them that he tried so hard to hide. He looked for Kid Flash and was met with open green eyes.

"Can't sleep?" Kid Flash asked.

Robin didn't want to tell him about the nightmare so simply nodded. He slipped into the small space next to Kid Flash.

"I can't sleep here. It's not comfy enough." Kid Flash whispered.

"So what were you going to do?" Robin asked.

He had known Kid Flash for just a few hours and he didn't think he was the sort of person who just sat quietly in the dark.

"Watch you guys in case something bad happened. Who's Maggie?" Kid Flash asked.

Robin realised that he must have known about the nightmare. He looked down before answering.

"Magpie."

Kid Flash nodded. He looked at Robin.

"I'm guessing that what you must see in Gotham can lead to nightmares." Kid Flash said.

Robin nodded once more. He reached down and gently moved Magpie's cape so it was a more effective pillow. Magpie woke up at her brother's touch but didn't react. She laid on the floor, her eyes closed. She just listened.

"You don't mind me staying up, do you?" Robin asked.

"Yeah, you could help me keep watch."

There was a pause and then Kid Flash asked for food. Robin handed over an energy bar he carried for stake outs.

"I always carry some food." Robin said. "You know, for snacks."

"You are my new best friend." Kid Flash said, clearly with a mouthful of food.

Magpie found herself smiling into her cape before she drifted back to sleep.

One year ago

"Are you two alright?" Batman called off the end of the pier.

The League had just got into a fight with a giant sea creature and they had managed to drive it out to sea. During the battle, however, Robin and Magpie were knocked into the ocean. They were treading water, not tempted to climb out.

"We're fine." the two twelve year olds chorused.

Speedy and Kid Flash moved to the edge of the pier, smiling down at their friends. Neither of the twins were bad at swimming and, given how hard they had all worked to drive the giant octopus like creature out of sea, they deserved a rest.

"Okay, Aquaman, stop messing around." Robin said, looking into the water.

The League frowned and looked down at Robin. Aquaman was standing on the pier with them. Robin's eyes widened at this sight.

"Something just touched my ankle." Robin breathed, a squeal in his voice.

He looked over at Magpie who was swimming towards him.

"Get to the beach!" Batman shouted at his children.

They began to swim, ploughing towards the beach. They didn't make it.

A yelp arose from where Magpie had been and everyone looked. The girl had disappeared under the surface of the water. Robin stopped, about to swim back and look for his twin. He disappeared under the surface.

Calling out the names of his children, Batman went to leap into the water but Superman stopped him.

"If Aquaman is right and Ocean Master is using that thing, he'll kill them when he gets a League hostage."

"If you ever become a father, you'll understand." Batman said, trying to shake free of Superman's grip.

"We can't just leave them down there!" Kid Flash moaned.

"If you're not going in, I will." Speedy growled, preparing to dive.

Green Arrow grabbed him and held him back. Speedy struggled, desperate to go and protect the duo. They were the closest thing he had to siblings and he wasn't going to let some feisty sushi take them from him. He shot a desperate look at Kid Flash, urging him to go after the duo.

"We're not losing you too!" Flash shouted, wrestling his nephew back from the edge of the pier at super speed.

Robin was kicking at the tentacle that had latched onto his ankle. His cape was billowing around Jim as he was dragged deeper and he couldn't see. He tried to go for his belt but he knew that the creature had his twin and he couldn't risk doing anything in case he hurt her.

His chest was burning. He was desperate for air but he also knew that his thrashing would case him great problems. He reached up and undid the clasp on his cape, letting it fall away into the water. He was shocked by how dark everything was. He had thought it was his cape. He was blacking out and he knew it.

The last thing he saw was a figure swimming effortlessly towards him, holding something close to a sword.

There was an agonising pause as the League discussed what to do. Aquaman was going to go down there and find the kids. The rest of the League were going to either search from the air or keep the other young partners from going into the water.

"What's that?" Speedy asked, his keen archer's eyes picking out something in the water.

"Like I'm going to fall for that." Green Arrow said.

"Blood." Superman answered.

There was a growing red stain in the blue water. Batman told them that they couldn't wait any longer. Aquaman went to dive in when Superman stopped him.

"There's something coming this way." Superman said.

He could make out some sort of deformed figure but he couldn't be clear what it was. The water that submerged it broke up the figure's outline.

Instead of going for the pier, the figure headed towards the beach.

The figure walked onto the beach and its deformities became clear. The deformities were two unconscious children. One of the figure's arms was carrying Robin's limp form and the other was supporting Magpie who was thrown over the figure's shoulder. The figure was a young man and he carefully placed both heroes on the ground before checking that both had pulses.

"My king, I believe these two are friends of the League." the young man said, letting Batman move past him and kneel beside his children.

"Thank you, Kaldur'am." Aquaman said.

He turned to the League and their apprentices. Robin and Magpie were sitting up and brushing water from their masked eyes but they still her the announcement.

"It is my pleasure to introduce my apprentice, Aqualad." Aquaman said, putting his arm over the young man's shoulders.

Present day.

Dick Grayson was lying in bed. He had been asleep but a noise had woke him up. He had realised in shock that there was someone in his bedroom and had laid still, pretending to be asleep.

When the mattress shifted, suggesting something had climbed onto the bed, Dick tensed. A lock of his raven hair was pulled off his ear.

"Today's the day." his sister's voice whispered into his ear.

Dick sat up and looked at his sister, Margaret 'Maggie' Grayson. He grinned at her.

"Today is the day." he smirked.


End file.
